Creativity: the Church’s stealth bomb

I am delighted to welcome Beth Moran onto my blog today. When researching the article on Christian fiction, I asked Beth for her thoughts and she gave me some really interesting comments on Christians and creativity. I’ve included them here as I think they give all writers (and other artists) food for thought…

As Christians, we are called the light of the world. Not the light to the Church. And as great as our sermons might be, when it comes to influence in our nation, most people are not listening. But if we really believe that words anointed by God are powerful, that they can heal or set free, releasing supernatural breakthrough, transforming an atmosphere, impacting a culture and changing the course of history, shouldn’t we be sharing words of life and truth in such a way that people will listen?

The Church was once the most influential cultural force in the world. To some extent, in recent times it has hunkered down into its own nice Christian world. We’ve created our own safe little culture, most of which will never grab the world’s attention. Not because it’s religious – that’s our fear, that the God bit will be the problem – but because it’s not good enough. 

But shouldn’t those who walk and talk with the creator be leading the way when it comes to culture and creativity? Shouldn’t our art be the most beautiful, because it speaks truth about how things should be, not just how they could be? It speaks the truer, better word – a word that brings hope and light into the darkness. 

We need to tell a better story, in a way that the world will bother to listen to. Because we are getting used to a lesser story – our culture these days is full of the anti-heroes, the stories that worship at the altar of self, science or a twisted view of success. 

People are interested in good art and great stories, irrespective of the subject matter. And that enables God to sow seeds, start conversations and get people thinking. To breathe life and bring change. Creativity moves and connects us in ways that teaching often can’t. Great art speaks to the longing of every soul – the hope that we are more than a bunch of cells firing off chemical reactions.

Before faith, does there need to be hope? Hope that there even could be something more, a better way, an answer. And to be able to hope in that something, we need to be able to imagine what it could be, to see a possibility that things could be different from how they are. 

If Jesus rated creative stories so highly as a way to speak to people, shouldn’t we? 

Jesus’ parables mostly weren’t even about God, on the surface. Why did Jesus tell stories? They were interesting, enjoyable and they got people’s attention. We love stories because they make us feel; they connect us to the people and world around us. We think – “yes, that’s me!” or “I know someone just like that”, so I can trust you, the storyteller. 

When we, as writers, describe things as they are we gain the reader’s trust. We can then lead them on a journey to resolution, to the world we were made for. When people read or hear a story, they use the same part of the brain as if they were experiencing those things for themselves. So when we point people to stories about hope and peace, joy and forgiveness, and love, they get to feel those things for themselves. And hopefully want more. 

Beauty moves us; beautiful words organised well inspire and heal us. This is what the psalms do, when we read them and think: “yes! That’s it! I too want my enemies to dissolve into slime like snails” (Psalm 58). We respond with: “That was what I needed to pray but couldn’t express.” Then, the psalm takes us on to that better reality, tells the better story (surely the righteous will be rewarded, there is a God who judges the earth). It takes us from where we are to how it should be, and so offers us the invitation to come too. 

Creativity – art, fiction, poetry – is the Church’s stealth bomb. People are drawn to a great and beautiful story, well told, no matter what the topic, but for those who have eyes to see and ears to hear, there is treasure to be found. 

Another role of the creatives, in telling a better story and shaping culture, is to simply get God and faith back in the conversation. We want some portrayal of Christians in the media that are ‘normal’ people, as in not hypocrites or serial killers. We need art that is salty – I have never had a non-Christian write a review saying there is too much God or church in my books. I have had Christians, especially in the US, say there isn’t enough, and I want to ask them what they think about the parables, or the book of Esther. 

The power of words can change someone’s future. With words and stories, we can create a vision of how this world should be that is so irresistible, in its beautiful, glorious hope, that it touches the hearts of those who hear it like nothing has before. 

Beth Moran writes women’s fiction: her latest novel is Christmas Every Day.

If you want to read the article on Christian Fiction that appeared in November’s issue of Premier Christianity you can request a free copy here. It will be available for request until November 25.

When things seem hopeless

Photo by mateen kazi from Pexels

Reflections based on Job 6:2–21.

‘What strength do I have, that I should still hope? What prospects, that I should be patient?’ (v.11)

I want to look at one more biblical character in our study on hope. I was drawn to Job, partly because I was surprised to see so many scriptures on hope within the book (although many are about the loss of hope). But it was mainly because, having looked at Hannah and David, I still had one more question. How do we keep hoping in God even when everything around us falls apart or is taken away?

Job was a righteous man that Satan said was only faithful because he hadn’t been tested. So God allowed him to take everything away from Job – his children, animals, servants – and afflicted him with painful sores. Even then he remained steadfast (see 2:10). It was when his friends started saying he must have sinned that Job began to question why he was suffering so much.

Job’s friends just didn’t seem to know how to cope with Job at this point. They believed he must need to repent and said that if he would put his trust back in God: ‘You will be secure, because there is hope; you will look about you and take your rest in safety.’ (11:18). How often do we judge our friends, thinking that perhaps the difficulties they are facing are the result of sin? While it is important to challenge each other when necessary, we need to be careful that we don’t make wrong assumptions.

Look again at 6:8–13. Have you ever been in a place of suffering that is so bad you just longed to be allowed to give up? I have watched my mother suffer such constant physical pain that I know death would be a relief – and yet still she clings to her hope in God. She is an inspiration to me, and has taught me so much about trusting God through difficulties.

For prayer and reflection: Help me Lord not to judge my friends unfairly, or to lose hope in You when things around me are becoming difficult.

The enduring draw of biblical fiction

Last week we heard from UK author Chris Aslan, about his experiences writing biblical fiction. It is an interesting and popular genre, and one that, while it has seen changes over the years, still draws readers around the world.

I had some other interesting comments on biblical fiction from my research for the recent article I wrote for Premier Christianity magazine (see the end of this article for more info on that), which means I’ve decided to focus on biblical fiction for another week. This gives you the chance to hear from a couple of other authors (this time from the US) about their experiences.

Historically, Christian fiction came from America and tended to focus on historical and biblical retellings. This sort of fiction was huge in the 1980s and 90s. And then Frank Peretti and Ted Dekker began producing ‘end times’ fiction, which, again, became enormously popular. More recently, Amish fiction has sat in the top spot in America for a good few decades.

Interestingly, Mesu Andrews, who writes biblical fiction, was told back in the 2000s by Christian publishers that ‘Christians don’t buy biblical fiction anymore. But there were many biblical novels published in the general market, so I began reading them – and was horrified at what was done to God’s truth. From that moment forward, my goal has been to keep truly biblical fiction alive through Christian authors’ hands. However, I’d love to see it cross over into the general market with powerful writing and complex story lines.

‘I signed a contract with Revell (a division of Baker Publishing) in 2008 soon after they acquired Jill Eileen Smith’s first biblical series, The Wives of King David. Hers was the breakthrough series that brought back a new wave of fabulous biblical fiction. Moody Publishers acquired Tessa Afshar’s Pearl in the Sand. NavPress published Tosca Lee’s Havah. 

‘A few years later, Angela Hunt returned to the genre, and Bethany House (a division of Baker Publishing) acquired Connilyn Cossette to join the ranks of top-notch authors. The floodgates of well-researched, engaging biblical novels has burst open, and readers are ravenous for it. It’s definitely an exciting time for everyone who loves God’s Word!

‘I generally choose stories about lesser-known female characters or try to write from a unique perspective on a familiar story. My debut novel, Love Amid the Ashes, places Jacob’s raped daughter Dinah with the Bible’s champion sufferer, Job. And my most recent release [Of Fire and Lions] explores the familiar character of Daniel through the eyes of his fictional wife. 

‘Only through intense research and a deep reverence for the truth of God’s Word do I make these story decisions, and then I offer explanations for those decisions in an Author’s Note at the end of my books. My main goal in writing biblical fiction is always to drive readers to the truth of the Bible. Fiction is a dream, but God’s truth offers real life.’

Tessa Afshar believes that the stories within the Bible hold a fascination that draws people in. She told me: ‘The people who inhabit the world of the Bible have managed to capture our hearts for thousands of years. In spite of the fact that their world is, in many ways, alien to us, their stories still captivate us. Most of these characters are flawed men and women through whom God fulfills his purposes.  In my experience, all of us struggle with various wounds. Soul wounds. Biblical stories show us how, in God’s hands, a broken person can live a healed and healing life. Our souls hunger for that truth regardless of the century we live in.’

As a reader, this is a genre that I have discovered in recent years – and I am thoroughly enjoying the books I have read by such thoughtful and innovative authors as Mesu, Tessa and Chris. If you have a particular title that you would recommend, do add a comment to this post – it would be great to help each other find good reads (and will encourage the authors too!).

If you want to read the article on Christian Fiction that appeared in November’s issue of Premier Christianity you can request a free copy here. It will be available for request until November 25.

Can we be honest about Christmas?

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I was thrilled to be asked to endorse Lucy Rycroft’s book Redeeming Advent earlier in the year. It was published in October and she is now in the throes of a blog tour – I am delighted to welcome her to my website today. And the fantastic news for you is that she has provided a free copy of the book for one of my regular readers to win! (Please see below for details of how to enter.)

It’s a privilege to be guest posting for Claire today. Her passion for honesty and authenticity has been inspiring and challenging me ever since I came across her writing.

Claire’s ministry is vital because, in real life and on social media, I’m increasingly noticing that people desire integrity over ‘relevance’. Once upon a time we all thought we had to dress a certain way, have a few piercings, act and speak ‘cool’ in order to draw others to Jesus.

But the gospel has always been, and will always be, more relevant than any of us could ever be. It doesn’t need glitz and glamour, it needs authentic people, sharing vulnerabilities and weaknesses, prepared to stand up and say ‘I struggle’ or, even, ‘I’m not very cool’.

This is the thinking behind my blog The Hope-Filled Family where I share the honest chaos (and believe me when I say it is chaos) of my family life. With four children aged 5–10, a clergy husband, an open home and a plethora of church and school commitments, we frequently boast laundry mountains, sinks full of dirty dishes, forgotten packed lunches and badly-dealt-with tantrums.

I mess up so much – and yet, in that mess, God affirms me as His daughter, Jesus redeems me from my failures and the Holy Spirit inhabits me with peace and joy.

THE BIRTH OF AN IDEA…

The blog is where my new book Redeeming Advent was birthed. In December 2017 I decided to write an Advent reflection for each day leading up to Christmas. This in itself could have been another item on my ‘failures’ list, but – by God’s grace – I made it to December 24th!

Each day I would take something that had happened that day – however mundane – or something ‘d been mulling over, and write what God might be teaching me through it. There was plenty of reality, honesty, humour and potential embarrassment, as I shared the highs and lows of our Advent that year.

Early in 2018 I found a publisher for these devotionals, so in the summer I found myself editing the whole lot, to tie them together in a way that would work for a book.

BEGINNING TO QUESTION MYSELF

During this editing process, as I read what I’d written the previous December, I started to think: Is anyone bothered about this? Do people care that I bought too much gift-wrap one year, or that I have a fear of under-catering, or that I don’t know how to use a real-life bookshop?

Of course all writers need to ask themselves questions as they write, challenging themselves to write deeper or more descriptively or in a more accessible style.

But the problem with the questions I was asking myself was that they were rooted in deep fear. Fear of what people would think of me. Fear of coming across like an idiot. Fear that literally no one would be able to relate to me. Fear that I was alone in my thoughts.

We read in 1 John 4:18 that ‘perfect love drives out fear’, and it can sound hollow to those of us whose fears are very real, very dominant and don’t look like they’re going anywhere. But I can tell you that it is only the love of God that made me confident to write openly and honestly about Advent: the fun traditions alongside the stresses and strains.

I have come to realise that I write for the people God puts in my path. That means it doesn’t matter if 99 people who read my writing think that I’m an idiot, if one person relates to what I’m saying so much that it draws them into closer connection with Jesus.

CULTURAL EXPECTATIONS

Letting go of the desire to meet others’ expectations as I write parallels the way I believe we need to let go of the cultural expectations of Christmas.

I’m not suggesting that we shouldn’t decorate our trees, give presents or enjoy special meals – in fact, Redeeming Advent talks quite a bit about redeeming these ‘secular’ festivities to glorify God. 

But there are a lot of expectations around this time of year that weigh heavily on us, and these will be different for each one of us. 

Perhaps you are the person in the family who others expect to organise the Secret Santa/host Christmas/make travel plans – and it’s just draining all the joy out of you. 

Perhaps you’re a sucker for the John Lewis Christmas adverts, and feel you’ll never be able to meet this (unrealistic, by the way) cultural expectation of a beautiful Christmas from start to finish. 

Perhaps you feel the weight of your children’s expectations to provide elaborate presents, when you desperately want them to treasure Jesus first of all.

LET’S BE HONEST

This Advent, I want to plead with you: Can we be honest about Christmas? Please? Can we acknowledge the tricky family dynamics, the tight financial budget, the job uncertainty, the worry about our children, the state of our mental health, the marital difficulties, the grief, the loss, the sadness?

Because, if we do, I think we might discover better connection to others, as we share our burdens and empathise with the suffering of others.

And, even more importantly, I think we will discover more of the Jesus who came down to this damaged earth in a busy, messy way, who knew what it was like to be a refugee, an outcast, an oddball, a target of others’ attacks.

This, friends, is where we will find our perfect Christmas. Not in the perfectly arranged place settings at the Christmas table, nor in the perfectly coordinated baubles on our tree, but in the perfection of our Saviour, who endured the suffering caused by others, so that He might rescue us from ours.

Have a very blessed Christmas!

Lucy Rycroft blogs about parenting, adoption and faith at  The Hope-Filled Family. Her first book Redeeming Advent is an accessible 24-day Advent devotional and you can buy it here. Lucy lives in York with her husband Al and their four children.

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I will yet praise Him

Reflections based on Psalm 25:1–7; 33:18–22.

‘Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Saviour, and my hope is in you all day long.’ (Ps. 25:5)

I love the psalms. Their passion – and their total honesty. They reveal the struggles the authors had with their personal circumstances and how, at times, they literally had to talk to their souls: ‘Why, my soul, are you downcast? … Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Saviour and my God.’ (Ps.43:5).

I find refreshment when I turn to the psalms, because they give me hope. Even when I am feeling surrounded or simply low, there is usually a psalm that articulates how I am feeling. But it doesn’t allow me to wallow, as it usually then turns my thoughts to God. 

Have you ever noticed how many times the word ‘hope’ appears in the psalms? It occurs 38 times in Psalm 119 alone! The key to the effectiveness of the psalms is, I believe, the way they are honest but don’t stay there. They turn their gaze heavenwards and allow the truth to bring fresh hope.

If you have never written your own psalm, why not try writing one today? Bring your troubles to God, but also remember to speak His truths and declare ‘I will yet praise Him’.

Optional further reading: Psalm 42, Psalm 119, Psalm 146.

Chris Aslan on Christian fiction

I recently got in touch with many different Christian fiction authors, as I was preparing to write an article for Premier Christianity magazine entitled ‘The changing face of Christian fiction’. There was so much great material that we didn’t have room to include, so I’ve decided to create a mini-series with comments from authors that will hopefully give you an insight into their writing journey, why they write the type of books that they do and what they think of Christian fiction in general. 

We are kicking off this mini-series with Chris Aslan, author of Alabaster, Manacle (published by Lion Fiction) and new book Mosaic. So…over to Chris:

I probably shouldn’t admit this but I don’t tend to read ‘Christian fiction’ as published by Christian publishers, because I find it usually comes from America and tends to be either right-wing fear-mongering, too twee or with a heavy-handed message to which the story is subservient. I’d much rather read Marilynne Robinson’s Gilead trilogy or some Tolstoy. In fact, one of the reasons I wrote Alabaster, Manacle and Mosaic (Mosaic will be published next year or early 2021) is because of my frustration with not having anything to hand that I could give to my friends who aren’t Christians that wasn’t polemic. Where were the stories? 

My favourite writer in the Christian Fiction category is probably Patricia St. John. She wrote for children but tackled some tough issues and I wish she’d written for adults as well. Because she’d lived in the Middle East for many years, she was able to bring that world alive and her characters felt convincing and true. I wanted to write stories that wove in my own experiences of living for much of my life in rural traditional Muslim cultures. 

In Alabaster, the voice of Maryam came effortlessly to me because she’s a composite of some of the spirited and enterprising weavers who came to work in the carpet workshop I set up in a small desert oasis in Uzbekistan. Women outside the home were treated with suspicion and so these women put up with a lot. I longed for them to know how valued they were by God, even if they weren’t valued by their own community. 

I didn’t write Alabaster for Christians. I wrote it for Muslims and when I hear from Muslim women who’ve felt I’ve put into words some of their story, it’s better than any award! 

I’m reluctant to call my books Christian Fiction, much less a sub-genre of that. It’s not that I’m in any way ashamed of the truths within them, but that I want them read by people who don’t know Jesus and wouldn’t read stories with religious themes. 

In fact Philip Yancey kindly read both of them and sheepishly told me that it was only two thirds of the way through Alabaster that he suddenly realised what the story was really about. This was, of course, extremely gratifying as that was my intent. 

Sometimes stories have more resonance when they don’t lay everything out on the table in the first few pages. So, I avoid referring to the books as Biblical fiction, as to do so spoils the impact of suddenly realising that this is 1st-century Palestine.

As for Biblical fiction in general, I personally think it works best when compelling stories are told in which Jesus is key to the whole thing but not necessarily centre stage. Ben Hur is a classic example. I remember sitting on floor-mats with the Uzbek family I lived with watching it on TV. They loved it and were so moved when Jesus healed lepers. It wasn’t distributed by some kind of mission society but was broadcast in a majority Muslim country on national TV. 

That’s the power of a good story, well told, that’s got the salt in it that Jesus talked about, but isn’t over-salted and unpalatable. 

I wrote Alabaster fairly quickly and met the non-fiction editor for Lion Hudson at a writers’ event. I pitched Alabaster and asked her to read the first chapter and to keep going if she wanted to, and then maybe pass it on to whoever they were about to hire as fiction commissioning editor. She was really moved by it, as was the new editor, so it was a far easier journey than I’d expected. 

My challenge hasn’t been getting published but how to get these stories into the hands of people who don’t know Jesus yet. I figured that maybe the easiest way to do this is via the hands of people who do. 

If you would like to find out more about Chris’ books please click here.

And if you want to read the article on Christian Fiction that appeared in November’s issue of Premier Christianity you can request a free copy here. This particular issue will be available for request until November 25.

Chris was born in Turkey and spent his childhood there and in war-torn Beirut. After school, Chris spent two years at sea before studying media and journalism at Leicester University. He then moved to Khiva, a desert oasis in Uzbekistan, establishing a UNESCO workshop reviving 15th-century carpet designs and embroideries, creating income for women.

After a year in the UK writing his first (non-fiction) book, A Carpet Ride to Khiva, he moved to the Pamirs in Tajikistan, training yak herders to comb their yaks for their cashmere-like down, spending three years there. Next came two years in Kyrgyzstan living in the world’s largest natural walnut forest and establishing a wood-carving workshop. Chris has recently finished rowing and studying at Oxford and is now a curate at St. Barnabas, North Finchley, and author of Alabaster, Manacle and Mosaic. He returns to Central Asia whenever he can and conducts tours there.

Finding hope through worship

Reflections based on Psalm 57.

Having had a break for half term, we are back to our study on hope. Scholars agree that this psalm was written during the same period as the one we looked at two weeks ago (Psalm 142). But here David seems to be more determined. Yes, he is still in the same situation of men pursuing him for his very life, and also unsure of whether any of his own are set to betray him (see v.4). However, right from the first verse David is declaring that his soul finds refuge in God alone. This sentiment appears numerous times throughout the psalms. For example, Psalm 119:114 says ‘You are my refuge and my shield; I have put my hope in your word.’

Throughout Psalm 57 we see a juxtaposition between the situation that David finds himself in and the truth about who God is. David is declaring who he has faith in, and where his hope lies, while being realistic about what is going on in his life. He also speaks to his soul, telling it to ‘awake’ and goes on to worship God in the final three verses.

This psalm talks to me about the importance of worship even in the midst of trials. I think that is one of the lessons that David learned while in the cave, and I also think it is one that God wants us all to learn through our own personal ‘caves’.

How do we come through difficulties still clinging to the hope we have in Him? By learning to set our hearts and minds to worship Him, even when it may be the last thing we ‘feel’ like doing. From a perspective of worship, our surroundings and circumstances can seem very different. David went on to be the greatest king of Israel and yet he had to learn this lesson – so must we. Believe me, I understand how painful praising through the pain can be, and yet I am totally convinced of how vital it is.

For prayer and reflection: God help me to quickly learn the benefits of worshipping you even when I may not feel like it. You are worthy, whatever I am going through, and I am sorry that I can forget that when I am feeling overwhelmed.

Fighting despair

Reflections based on 1 Samuel 22:1–6; Psalm 142.

Reading in Samuel, we discover that David is running from Saul and takes refuge in a cave. He had already been anointed king by Samuel at this point, but the current king was not ready to give up his throne. It is interesting to see how God allowed David to go through this time of testing. He didn’t simply triumphantly walk onto the throne: God worked on his character through these testing times.

David wrote a few of the psalms while hiding from Saul. In Psalm 142 he is totally overwhelmed and desperate. He believes no one cares about him. And yet, even in the depths of despair, he turns to God. He tells Him how he feels. This might seem shocking – he says to God ‘no-one is concerned for me’ when obviously deep down he knows that God is. But I believe this psalm is important because it shows us that God wants us to be honest with him, in the way that David is here. Notice that he does turn things around though, and it is when he remembers where his hope lies that things change for him. As we see in verse 2 of our Samuel passage, God brings 400 men to him who form the start of his army. While he may feel he is hiding away, God is giving him an opportunity to work on both his own character and the development of leadership skills to run an army.

How do you respond when the heat is turned up in your life? Do you have a tendency to wallow in self-pity? If so, try to articulate that to God rather than keeping it inside and dwelling on it. Then remind yourself that He is the only real source of strength and hope.

I have found that I can have a tendency to get stuck in negative emotions. Learning how to lament, using the psalms as guides, has been an incredibly helpful form of release. I try and articulate all of my emotions through writing them down, and then remember God’s faithfulness to me in the same way.

For prayer and reflection: I am sorry Lord when I hide away from You, too low even to speak. Help me to lift my eyes to You, be honest about how I feel but also remember that You are my hope.

World mental health day

A drawing my daughter did this week for ‘Inktober’, which I felt beautifully encapsulated how fragile we can sometimes feel.

Today is World Mental Health Awareness day. It is great that we have such important issues flagged up on special days, but of course, whether they are dealing with short-term or severe, long-term mental ill-health, many face difficult realities day in, day out. They are the heroes. The ones who have to be brave each and every day – just to get out of bed at times. And not only do they have to face their own inner critic, but, sadly, there is still so much stigma surrounding mental health issues. That is why anything that raises awareness is to be welcomed.

As I was doing research for a piece on Christian fiction for Premier Christianity magazine, which is due to be published in November’s issue, I was, for example, surprised and extremely pleased to learn that there are a number of novelists out there tackling this subject in a sensitive manner in their work.

There has been a plethora of blogs and comments via social media today, much of it more eloquent than I could probably be. So I decided that today I would let a few of those authors speak on this subject themselves, as they seek to provide deeper understanding amongst us all, as well as championing those who are facing this reality each day. 

May I encourage you to take time to learn more about mental ill-health, as I can assure you that you will know people who are struggling right now – perhaps you are yourself. Take time to read – either the fiction the authors below have written or some of the helpful non-fiction that Christian writers and counsellors have put together. I’ve suggested a few of each at the end of this blog.

Firstly, Sharon Garlough Brown has written the hugely successful Sensible Shoes series, which I have mentioned many times here. Her latest book is about Wren, a social worker and person of faith who has her own struggles with mental ill-health. Here is what Sharon told me about why she wanted to write about this subject: “With so many people suffering from mental health issues, I wanted to explore with deep compassion the struggles, heartaches and sense of isolation experienced not only by those afflicted with depression and anxiety, but by those who love them and often feel powerless to help.” 

Angela Hobday (writing as Annie Try) centres her novels around characters living with or overcoming mental health problems – and usually solving a mystery too! With her background as a clinical psychologist she has “worked with clients whose lives are destroyed partly by their mental illness but also by the attitudes of those around them. In my eyes, those who find every day a struggle yet still achieve their goals, or even attempt to, are heroes. I want them to be viewed as such by my readership.”

Fiction:

Shades of Light by Sharon Garlough Brown

Red Cabbage Blue by Annie Try

Non-fiction:

Honesty Over Silence by Patrick Regan

Learning to Breathe by Rachael Newham

The Power of Belonging by Will van der Hart and Rob Waller

The Insight Guides are incredibly helpful on all sorts of subjects, many connected with mental health issues. Here are three that I have had the privilege of working with experts on:

An Insight into Self-acceptance
An Insight into Shame
Insight into Burnout

A prayer of hope

Reflections based on 1 Samuel 2:1–21.

What a prayer! Hannah has just left her son with Eli, giving him back to God as she promised she would. How hard that must have been, and yet she goes away with her heart overflowing with the goodness of God. She knows she can trust Him not only with her own future, but with her son’s very life. This prayer is full of hope for all of us. It offers truths about who God is and what He does: ‘those who stumbled are armed with strength’, ‘those who were hungry are hungry no more’, ‘he… lifts the needy from the ash heap’.

Later in the passage we see Hannah’s hope bearing fruit once more. Juxtaposed against the sin that Eli’s sons were committing, we are told that ‘Samuel was ministering before the Lord’ (v.18). Hannah hadn’t had to give him up entirely – she got to visit him each year, no doubt watching him grow up to be the mighty man of God he became. But of course she had to return home without him, which must have been painful every time. However, God graciously blessed her with five other children. She couldn’t have expected that! 

Can you remember a time when you have had to wait patiently for something but then have seen how God’s timing was not only perfect but He also provided unexpected blessing too? I have seen God’s faithfulness time and time again in my own life. It doesn’t mean there aren’t hardships and frustrations – and I can’t say I like the waiting either! But I am beginning to understand that if we hope in God, He will fulfil all He has promised. Maybe not in the way we expect, but He knows best.

For prayer and reflection: Thank you God that you are totally trustworthy. I thank you for this reminder of how you do us good. Help me to remember these truths always.